Medieval Govan

The popular tradition of Govan’s medieval origin lies with Saint Constantine, said to be a 6th century Brittonic King of Cornwall who gave up his throne to become a monk and later founded a small wooden church or monastery at Govan; after martyrdom in Kintyre it is said that St. Constantine's body was brought back to the church at Govan to be buried. His feast day is the 11th March and he is regarded by some as Scotland’s first Christian martyr. There is indeed archaeological evidence of Christian burials at the church in…Read more …

The origin and meaning of the name Govan itself is perhaps the most disputed aspect of Govan’s rich history. Guuen, Ouania, Gobann, Gowan and Gofan are all just a few of the numerous forms of the name Govan, this wide variation has led to much debate over its meaning and language of origin. The earliest recorded attempts to explain its meaning was in 1578 by Bishop John Leslie who said it was derived from two Anglo-Saxon words, God + win, meaning Good wine, a later meaning of similar Anglo-Saxon origin was given as…Read more …